Ingredients (INCI):

The shea tree:

The shea tree has a height of 6-12 m and is similar gnarled like an oak tree. The large leaves are in tufts at the end of the thick branches. The flowers grow in dense, head-like tufts of 50-100 flowers. They are cream white and smell strongly of honey. The egg-shaped stone fruits have a size of about 4x3 cm. They have a thick shell. The seeds have a similar shape to the fruit and are crusty, chestnut-like with a brownish-shining color. The ripe pulp is edible. Only with an age of 40-50 years does the shea tree reach its maximum yield.

How shea butter is produced:

The fruits of the shea tree are collected manually and stacked one above the other in vessels or a pit. The pulp is then removed. The resulting nuts are dried in the sun or in ovens built out of branches, under which a fire burns. Another possibility is to cook the nuts first and then dry them in the sun. To remove the shell, the nuts are grounded in oil mills and sieved in wide-meshed baskets to separate the shells from the cores. Small parts are blown away from the wind, shells fall to the ground and the kernels remain in the basket. The kernels are extracted in an oven, comminuted in mill or mortar, and this greasy mass is treated by hand with water until the shea butter becomes approximately white and separates from the impurities. The extract is boiled until the water is completely removed, filtered and finally packed.

Relative composition of shea butter:

Shea butter and its applications:

In pharmacy, medicine and cosmetics:

Shea butter is used in care products such as creams, lotions and after-sun products. It is also used in lip balms, nose and breasts creams and in anti-stretch mark creams.